Sesshomaru's Training; Penglai Island Appears

Three hundred li east of Maple Valley Village, deep within the lawless zone.

An ancient altar stood in the center of a valley surrounded by mountains, built from black basalt and covered in long-lost, sinister runes.

The altar was nine-sided, with a twisted stone pillar at each corner, each topped by carvings of demon heads in various shapes.

It was dusk. The setting sun was as red as blood, staining the altar a dark crimson.

Sesshomaru and Liuli hovered above the valley, looking down.

"The evil aura here is denser than in Black Wind Canyon."

Liuli frowned deeply. A faint golden divine light shimmered around her, resisting the pervasive corrosion in the air.

Sesshomaru did not respond. His gold purple eyes remained fixed on the center of the altar.

Dozens of figures knelt there, all dressed in gray robes and wearing grotesque masks.

They formed a circle around a long-dried demon corpse with a bone dagger embedded in its chest.

Qingxuzi stood beside the corpse, holding a yellowed ancient tome as he recited an ancient incantation in a hoarse voice.

As the chant continued, the runes on the altar lit up one by one, emitting a dark crimson evil light.

The blood-red sky grew ever more intense, as if heaven and earth themselves were responding to this blasphemous ritual.

"They're performing the Spirit-Summoning Blood Sacrifice."

Liuli explained in a low voice, barely suppressing her anger.

"Using the blood of a hundred races as the catalyst to summon fragments of fallen Evil Spirits.

Once this ritual is complete, everything within a thousand li will become a dead zone."

Sesshomaru's eyes turned cold.

"Then they won't complete it."

Before his words had even faded, he turned into a streak of silver light and dove down. Moonlight Blades instantly condensed between his fingers,